


It's not the end of the world

by MaeHill



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, F/M, M/M, Men of Letters Bunker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 07:14:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15091760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeHill/pseuds/MaeHill
Summary: Lucifer got out of Hell, watched a bad Zombie movie, tried to make it his thing, failed, died and the world went on. It's the generation of survivors and hunters, with Dean and Sam in the middle of it. It's not as weird as it sounds, I swear!





	It's not the end of the world

The apocalypse was very much what one would expect, and at the same time not. The world went to shit and people were dying. People started teaming up about four months in to survive, hoarding toilet paper like it was gold, because it basically was, and kids were growing up with guns in their hands. It was survival of the fittest, so hunters were doing a hell of a lot better than the rest of the population. 

Which brings us to the part of the apocalypse that was unexpected. Everyone that was alive before the apocalypse started was sure to have seen a zombie movie at some point. A virus that spread through bites and blood, slowly turning every human to slobbering messes that only cared about brains or flesh. The real plot twist was this; humans were immune from the start. The only humans that were killers were just shitty humans or psychopaths, just like in the old days. 

And so hunters lived and thrived in known environments, killing off the supernatural creatures that came at them, most of them infected with the virus that made them more violent and forward, but also a bit dumber. Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, Shapeshifters, you name it, they killed it. The only thing that had changed, was how openly they could kill them. They weren't really hunters anymore, or criminals. They were simply survivors. 

It might not have been ideal, and millions of people was dead, but Dean couldn't help but feel more at home. More comfortable in the new world. Somehow safer, however weird it might be. He had managed to ignore the whispering voices in his head that told him he was guilty of all those that were dead, and focused on the one voice that praised him for making sure Lucifer had joined the dead. He hoped that Lucifer was trapped somewhere, not alive, but not gone, forced to endure eternity with the knowledge that he died within hours after achieving his goal. And so the days, months and years went on. Not that people really counted days anymore, not in the same way they had. No one counted the days to Christmas or even birthdays anymore. The days just came and went.

The bunker was very handy as well. While it previously housed only Sam and Dean, there were now five other occupants. Bobby and Charlie had been with them from the very start. They had quickly hunted down Jody and Donna, which were now happily sharing a bedroom. A few months after, Sam found a dog. Dean could do nothing to fight it when Sam gave him his famous puppy eyes and then took the dog, which he named Bones, with him. A year into the apocalypse they took in a deaf hunter that was not only hurt, but alone. Sam and Eileen had quickly fallen in love and were sharing Sam's bedroom a few months after she moved in. 

A not so small family of survivors was created and Dean thrived along side his loved ones. They still hadn't managed to empty out the huge room of canned food they had found a few months after moving in. The only ate from it if they had to, if one of their trips or hunts weren't successful. They emptied out town after town, and hunted in the nearby woods. It was easy to survive with the experience they had. Sam spent some time on a garden they kept right outside, which helped with the food supply as well. The only thing they needed now, according to Charlie, was a priest so that the two happy couples could get married. Dean secretly hoped the universe would provide one, because a wedding seemed like a nice idea. He didn't say this out loud to anyone. 

They'd stay in most days, hunt a few times each month, and go out to see if they find more stuff or food once per month, or more if needed. They got radios in case they needed to contact each other, so half of them stayed back while the other half went out. Dean, being who he is, always went out. No one mentioned it or tried to make him stay behind, knowing that that was a fight they could never win. Dean hoped something would change soon, shake things up a bit, throw something, or someone, good in his – their lives. 

"Hey! Look what I found!" Dean eyed the small porcelain angel Sam held proudly in his hands, then looked up at his brother and raised an eyebrow.

"How does that help our situation?" Dean asked. 

"How does it hurt our situation though?" Sam retorted. Dean snorted, but didn't argue when Sam folded it in the t-shirt he had found in the last store and put it in his bag. "Did you find anything?" Dean opened his bag to reveal several packs of beefed jerky and some bottles of water. 

"Something a little more useful than your angel," he mumbled while closing the bag. Sam punched him on his arm as he passed him, but Dean simply smiled to himself before following. The stores were pretty empty on things that hadn't gone bad or that were actually useful to them. Sam had a habit of sneaking stuff in his bag that they really didn't need. Toys for Bones, blankets or pictures. Dean usually didn't say anything. 

"Guess what I found!" Charlie almost vibrated with excitement when they met her on the other side of the street. They had been lucky with how abandoned the town was of supernatural creatures, though they had met quite a bit of werewolves in the forest that they had to walk through to get here. 

"What?" Sam inquired, looking just as excited as Charlie. Dean rolled his eyes at the two dorks. Charlie started to pull something out of her bag.

"The first Harry Potter book!" Charlie and Sam went full out nerd, while Dean huffed on the outside, and went a little nerd on the inside. He shuffled closer, trying to appear casual about the whole thing. "I found it, so I'll read it first!" 

"I'm second," Sam said. They turned to Dean.

"I'm third," he mumbled before he continued to the next store. He heard them laugh behind him, but not in a bad way. Just in a way that told him that they knew he was a nerd on the inside. He didn't really know why he hid it, like a lot of other things, but if he had to bet his money on anything, his father had a lot to do with it. The next store was as silent as the rest of the town, but there was close to nothing of use there. Sam found another blanket that Dean planned on stealing when they got back to the buker and Charlie found a pair of fuzzy socks. Dean went to the backroom and heard a small sound, something that might've been a whimper, when he entered the room. He pulled his gun out from the holster around his thigh and clicked the safety off. Walking slowly, he rounded the corner only to face the barrel of a shotgun and a pair of blue eyes. He still kept his gun pointed towards the man, refusing to back down. They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. The man was wearing a ratty t-shirt, jeans and combat boots. Not exactly clothes to survive in, but damn. High cheekbones, beard covering half his face and a messy mop of dark-brown hair on his head.

"Put the gun down," the man hissed, his voice low and gravely. Dean wondered to himself if the man had gotten that voice by drinking Whiskey each morning, and then shook his head slightly in response to the man’s demand.

"No chance, blue eyes." The man squinted his eyes and tightened the grip on the shotgun. "If I die, I have friends with me that are very ready to get revenge whatever the cost. So the question is, are you ready to die?" The man visibly flinched. 

"I have kids." If there was one answer that could throw Dean Winchester off killing anyone, that was it. He still didn't put his guns down, but looked over the shoulder when the man gestured his head backwards once. Behind him sat a boy and a girl, neither of them more than ten years old. The blonde girl was clutching the boy, staring at Dean with a furious look in her eyes. Dean looked back at the man, sighed, then put his gun down and clicked the safety on. The man looked a bit taken aback, but eventually lowered his shotgun. 

"Why are you here alone with two small kids, man? There were a group of werewolves in the forest just five minutes from here." The man still had a steady grip on his shotgun, even if it was lowered, and his body was clearly tense. Some trauma there, Dean thought to himself. Trust issues and all that. 

"My brother got hurt. I needed supplies. Couldn't leave them behind." Dean sighed heavily. The guy really did have all the right reasons and stories to make Dean feel for him. Kids, hurt brother, desperate. 

"We have some supplies we found down the street, but it's not much. We have more at the bunker, but that's at least two days away." Dean turned around the corner. "Sam!" It didn't take long for Sam and Charlie to appear, both with weapons ready. "Jesus, calm down. Give me the medical supplies you found. Guy here needs 'em for his brother." Sam looked over his shoulder, where the blue eyed man were now standing, then put the gun away and started to look through his bag. 

"Are you here alone?" Charlie asked. Dean stepped aside and let the man speak for himself. 

"No, I.. Have some kids with me." Dean noticed the fact that he said 'some kids' and not my kids. Maybe he and his brother had gathered their own family as well. "My brother is in a cabin an hour away from here, but wasn’t conscious, so I couldn't leave them." Charlie put her gun away and smiled, a peace offering to ease the man. 

"I'm Charlie," she offered. The man looked at Dean for a quick moment before he answered.

"Castiel," he said, a quick smile on his lips. 

"Here," Sam said when he offered the supplies to him. "I'm Sam." The man – Castiel took the supplies, avoiding Sam's hand when he did so. 

"I'm Dean. Do you need help getting back to your brother?" The man clutched the supplies to his chest, a sight that made Dean's heart ache, hesitating a little before he answered. He looked between the three of them and then nodded.

"I can take care of myself, but.." Castiel turned to look at the two kids that were now standing in the corner, the girl's hands placed protectively on the boy's shoulders. "Claire, Jack, come here." The two huddled closer and the boy immediately grabbed a hold of Castiel's hand. 

"Sorry that I scared you," Dean said with a smile. The boy smiled back, but the girl simply squinted her eyes. Dean held his hands up in surrender, which finally made the girl smile a bit. "I'm Dean, this is my brother Sam and our friend Charlie."

"Claire," the girl said. "This is Jack." She patted his head. 

"Well, let's go fix up your brother." Sam and Charlie walked out first, while Dean stayed back with Castiel and the kids. Both Claire and Castiel held Jack's hands, guiding him and keeping him safe. He must be younger than Claire, Dean concluded, but it was hard to see exactly how old they were. They were clearly a bit malnourished, a bit too thin and a bit too small. Maybe he'd get the chance to ask later, and offer them food. When they got out on the street, Sam turned to ask Castiel where the cabin was.

"An hour that way," he said while pointing down the street, opposite of the way they had come from. Dean walked a bit in front of Castiel, to the left, Sam to the right, and Charlie in the back. Dean saw Sam looking down at the kids often, a soft expression on his face. Dean had seen him look at kids with hope before and he knew that Sam wanted a kid some day, not even the apocalypse could stop that, but the look he had now was.. Changed. Dean gasped, causing Sam to whip his head around to look at him.

"Eileen is pregnant!" Dean blurted out. Sam opened his mouth, presumably to deny it, but instead a wide smile spread on his face. "Oh my god, she is!" Charlie was now jogging up to Sam, pulling him into a hug.

"I wanna be the cool aunt!" Charlie said with a wide grin. Dean was smiling wide.

"And I'm the cool uncle," he said before he pulled Sam into a hug. 

"We were gonna tell you next week. How'd you know?" Sam asked. Dean snorted and gestured back to Castiel and the kids.

"I have seen you look at kids with that hopeful look before, this look was different. You're terrible at keeping secrets." Sam laughed and looked down at the ground. 

"Congratulations," Castiel said. He was smiling, but Claire and Jack was looking around, disinterested in the news. Sam thanked him and they started walking again, Charlie in the back, Sam and Dean in the front discussing names.

"We were thinking Mary if it's a girl," Sam said. "Or Deanna." Sam laughed when Dean hit him on his shoulder.

"How about Samantha?" Sam hit him back.

"We haven't found a boy name yet." Dean nodded, and they both looked away, thinking the same thing. Neither of them would ever name one of their kids after their father. Their mother was a given, but she was also just a distant memory. A nice one. Their dad was not a distant memory, or a pleasant one. Everything he had done to them – to Dean, it felt like it had happened days ago. It always felt that way, especially in his nightmares. They hadn't spoken about it, not even after John died. 

“Do you know how far along she is?” Charlie asked from the back.

“It’s hard to know without a doctor, but we’re thinking about two months now. I grabbed a pregnancy test a month back, it showed that she was around one month pregnant. I don’t know how accurate they are.” Dean beamed.

“How much baby stuff have you gathered already?” Sam shrugged.

“Haven’t found much, but that’s why I wanted to get the porcelain angel.” A light went on in Dean’s head, thinking back to the small porcelain angel that his mother had been so fond of. It had been standing over his bed when he was little, and then he moved it to Sam’s room when he was born so it could protect him. Dean really wished he could’ve kept it, but it was destroyed with their home in the fire, and now they had another one. Their own. 

“That’s.. Good.” Dean smiled to himself. 

Everyone went silent as if on command when they went from walking on the cement road, to walking on a small path leading in between trees. The forest was quiet and they were surrounded by tall trees and bushes, leaves scattered around on the ground. There was no rustling of leaves, no birds singing, no.. Nothing. All of them, even the children, were looking around frantically. They were at least fifteen minutes into the forest.

"Hear that?" Sam whispered. 

"Yeah," Dean answered in a hushed voice, looking around in a desperate attempt to pin down where the sound of footsteps were coming from. Dean held the hand that wasn't clutched around his gun out, signaling for the group to stop. The kids were clutching to Castiel, who was in turn clutching the shotgun in his hand. It didn't take long for something to happen. Three shapes came out from behind the trees, all in front of the group, claws instead of nails on their hands, eyes blood red and frantic. Vampires, baring their fangs. Sam and Dean started shooting immediately, the frantic vampires only focused on following their instincts telling them to attack, to eat. 

"I doubt there's only three of them," Sam commented with a worried look after the vampires were all dead, face down on the ground. 

"We should hurry," Dean mumbled. They were at least forty five minutes away from the cabin Castiel's brother was in, but there was always a chance that a group of vampire had already stumbled upon him. They started walking, a little faster now. Dean stole a glance behind him, seeing the worried look on Castiel’s face that told him that he knew the risk as well. He knew that they might have to leave his brother behind to save the kids, and themselves. 

"This way." Castiel pointed a little to the left of the trail they were following. They passed a lot of trees with pieces of fabric tied around them. 

"You left some breadcrumbs?" Dean asked, a bit impressed. 

"I.. Yes. I'll have to find a new jacket." Dean laughed, though a bit hushed. It didn't take long for Jack to get tired, so Castiel let the shotgun hang on his back as he carried him. Claire had a firm grip on Castiel's t-shirt. Even though they'd picked up the pace, the trip seemed to go slow. It was hard to keep track of time as well, and without the fabric Castiel had left behind, they would probably never find the cabin. "Over there!" Castiel hurried a bit more, Claire trying her best to keep up. He passed Sam and Dean, impatient to get to his brother. Charlie came up in between them, sharing a look with the two of them. They hurried along, jogging right behind Castiel and the kids, ready to fight anything, or anyone, at a moments notice. Castiel threw the door open.

"Cassie?" Castiel sat Jack down. 

"We're here," Castiel answered. Charlie stayed at the door, Sam moved from window to window, while Dean followed Castiel and the kids to a bedroom on the left. "Did you get my note?" The man laying on the bed laughed, then coughed.

"You taped it to my forehead. Of course I got it." Dean walked over to the window, looking outside. Still nothing and no one. "Found yourself some friends?" Dean put the gun in the holster, then walked over to the bed. 

"I'm Dean," he said with a smile. 

"Gabriel. What's your deal?" he asked. Dean cocked an eyebrow.

"My deal?" Castiel interrupted before Gabriel could answer, smacking him on his head before he put some of the supplies Sam had given him on the bed. 

"Shut up," he muttered. He pulled up Gabriel's shirt, showing bandages that was more red than white at this point. Getting a scissor from the nightstand, he cut the bandages in two and pulled it away, revealing a cut that was very near getting infected.

"That doesn't look good," Sam commented immediately after entering the room. "Donna should take a look at it, and we have some antibiotics in the bunker." Gabriel whistled.

"And who are you?" He grinned. Sam furrowed his brows and then promptly left the room. "Please tell me he's gay and single." Dean shook his head, resisting the urge to slap Gabriel over the head.

"He's very much not single and his very pregnant better half is very good at knives." He leaned in. "She will cut you." 

"Stop telling everybody that she's pregnant!" Sam yelled from the other room. Dean snorted. 

"Anyway," Dean said, turning to Castiel. "The bunker has room for four more. Donna can fix up Gabriel and the kids can get their own room." Castiel and Gabriel looked at each other, both hesitant. Castiel seemed to make up his mind when he looked over at the two kids sitting on the floor, playing with two stones that were almost round enough to be balls. 

"I guess.." Castiel mumbles, still looking at the kids. He chewed his lower lip and turned to Dean. "Are you sure?" Dean nodded and smiled.

"The more the merrier! We've started out with four, then we went to get Donna and Jody. Then Sam found a stray dog and took that in too. And then he found Eileen and took her in too." Castiel seemed to relax more. Maybe it was because Dean wasn't doing this out of pity and it showed. He, and the others, just liked helping people. And these days that meant offering supplies or taking them in.

"Thank you," Castiel said. He then fixed Gabriel's wound up as best he could. "Is it far away?" 

"A few days by foot. It'll probably take us a bit longer now, but we'll get there." Just then the radio in Dean's bag made a noise, letting him know that someone at the bunker had turned the radio on and wanted to get in touch with them. He fished it out of the bag and pressed the button to speak. "What's up?" 

"Hey'a, Dean! Just checking in." Donna's cheerful voice always made Dean smile. She was a very likable person, if a bit much some days.

"Everything's fine. We're helping some people, so you better get three bedrooms ready." Dean very clearly heard Donna squeal over the radio. He mouthed 'see?' to Castiel, thinking that if anything would show him how much they didn't mind new people, this was it.

"When will you be here? How many are they?" Dean walked over to the window while they talked, looking out again.

"Two adults, one of 'em hurt, and two kids." Dean squinted to what he thought might've been movement outside. "We'll be there in about three days. Radio us tomorrow." 

"Sure thing. I'll get everything ready. Stay safe." The radio went silent, so Dean went out to the living room to tell the others the news. 

"Donna radioed in, I told her she'll just have to get some bedrooms ready for our new guests." Sam looked at him with amusement in his eyes. "What?" 

"Nothing," Sam mumbled, still smiling. Dean lifted an eyebrow but didn't get an answer. "It's gonna be a long trip with one down and two kids." Dean nodded.

"We'll be fine," Charlie said in a very sure tone. Dean wasn't that sure, but he knew they would do it anyway. Leaving others to fend for themselves? Selfish. Leaving someone that's hurt and has kids? Not a chance. He'd rather sacrifice himself. Not that that's something new, but still. 

"I can carry Jack on my back." Dean turned to find Castiel standing in the doorway, Jack holding one of his hands, Claire the other. "I made a sort of sling I can have him in and Claire.." Dean sat down in front of Claire.

"How old are you?" he asked her. She held up six fingers. "You're getting old," Dean said with a smile. Claire giggled, hiding her mouth behind her hand. "What about Jack?" Claire held up five fingers. "I can carry you if you and your dad get tired, alright?" Dean held a hand out, waiting for Claire to take it. She did, a bit hesitantly, letting go fast. 

"I'm not their – their dad." Dean looked up at Castiel. "I don't even really know how to do this." Dean got up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I think you're doing good and now you have a big support system anyway." That was the first time Dean saw Castiel smile wide, showing teeth and gums, and he already knew he was fucked. Castiel could probably ask him to do anything and, after smiling like that, Dean would do it all. "Yeah," Dean said under his breath, to no one and nothing in particular. He pulled his arm back and looked over at Sam, who was already looking at Dean with an unreadable expression. Could be pity, could be hope, could be either, but Sam knew better than to say anything. 

"What about your brother?" Charlie asked. "Can he walk?" Castiel turned to look at the open door, then sighed. 

"Not very much, it's.. He's gonna need support the whole way." Dean hummed and scratched his chin. 

"We could make a sort of stretcher," Dean suggested, already looking around to see if he could spot anything they could use. "We might have to go back to town to look." 

"Maybe we should ask some of the others to meet us? They could gather everything we need and that way we'll have more support surrounding the kids and Gabriel." Dean nodded in agreement, willing to admit that Sam's idea was better than his own. Even if they were able to make a some sort of stretcher, they would struggle if they were attacked. They wouldn't be able to make a protective circle around Castiel, the kids and Gabriel. With Bobby and Jody, or Donna, that would make their chances of making it back to the bunker without anymore injuries better. A lot better. 

"Yeah," Dean said while getting the radio out. He held the button in, knowing that the radio standing in the bunker was giving out a loud beeping now. It didn't take long for Jody to answer.

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately, worry in her voice.

"Nothing's wrong, breathe, Jody." Dean heard her let out a sigh of relief. "We were just going over how we were gonna get home. It'll be hard to protect the kids and carry Gabriel – he's the one that's hurt – so we were thinking that we might need some backup." 

"Of course! We'll pack and go right away, and Eileen -" 

"Don't bring Eileen," Dean blurted out. A chuckle came over the radio.

"Sam told you?" Sam looked at the radio, wide eyed and confused.

"I figured it out all on my own, Jodes. I'll tell you how when we meet up." Sam huffed, and then they continued to plan where to meet, what they had to bring and who were gonna stay behind with Eileen. It ended up being Donna, after she literally got the shortest straw. With the stamina of a veteran hunter and a cop, they would make good time on their way here, so Dean and the others decided to just stay there until the cavalry arrived and make the best of it. Dean had to admit, despite the unfortunate circumstances, that he was glad he'd run into Castiel. Maybe now some things would change, in a good way.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what happened, I was just writing a one-shot of End!verse Destiel, and then suddenly the characters weren't right and the story didn't match up and Jack showed up and I was like ??? so here's a story for you I'll continue when I have time. I'll add more tags and stuff when I have time, xoxo


End file.
